


borrowed lives (living like someone else)

by Dusty_Skyes



Series: Land, Sea, and Sky [5]
Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: AU - Everyone lives, Blood, Canon-Typical Violence, Corruption, How Do I Tag, M/M, Possession, Somewhat Fluffy, headcanons, references to other things, revali speaking of feelings, written at 3AM
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-26
Updated: 2017-03-26
Packaged: 2018-10-11 01:13:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,229
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10451694
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dusty_Skyes/pseuds/Dusty_Skyes
Summary: It begins when the Calamity speaks through the mouth of the Hero.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Oh hey, look, it's another one. Title comes from the song "Borrowed Lives" by NVDES.

     It begins when the Calamity speaks through the mouth of the Hero; when the corrupted orange swallows the peaceful blue; when the Darkness wears the skin of the Light. It begins when the ice explodes and releases the Corrupted Hero from its prison, tainted orange shards slicing outwards in an attempt to shear through fragile skin.

     The Corrupted steps out of its healing chamber, blood still oozing from the ancient wound on its chest, orange eyes glowing ominously in the shadows of the Shrine. _**You will fail**_ , it rumbles, words echoing in the deepest, darkest corners. _**You will fail. Despair, for all will be swallowed in shadow.**_

     “How _dare_ you,” Mipha hisses.

_**We are Darkness, Death, and Despair. We are the Calamity.** _ The Corrupted steps forward. _**Join and you may live to see another dawn.** _

     Revali's feathers fluff violently. “Are you _kidding_ me?” he snarls. “We spent hours working to save Hyrule from you the first time. Why the _fuck_ would we join you?”

_**So be it. You are an obstacle, and we shall remove your very existence.** _ Orange sparks around its form, spills over and solidifies into a bright crystal embedded into the skin of its throat, and it vanishes into dark squares of poisonous magic.

     Revali summons his bow, forming Hurricane from the wind itself, and grabs for his round-tipped arrows, immensely glad that he brought them along. Water swirls upwards, solidifying into her trident, and Mipha settles Seasplitter into a defensive position. Daruk calls the very earth to him, his hammer, Rock Wrecker appearing within his hands. Urbosa demands her scimitar; Skystrike appears from the lighting and she hoists the blade with ease.

     Though the Corrupted is empty-handed, it fights dangerously, stealing their own weapons from their hands and using them against their wielders. Orange crystals slice through the room only moments after the Corrupted reappears with a cackle; Urbosa bellows in fury when it steals her scimitar and turns Skystrike against her.

     An arrow smacks against side of the Corrupted's hand, and it roars _**You dare?** _ in pain and fury when Urbosa's weapon drops from its grip. She collects Skystrike immediately, slicing the air when it attempts to steal her scimitar from her again. The Corrupted recoils, vanishes into poisonous squares that fade into thin air, and attempts to lunge for the door.

     Revali whirls past and aims his bow at the thing's head, ducking when it slashes its claws at them. The sharp blades whirl past his skull, and he smirks, but the smile freezes on his face when he sees the feathers drifting to the ground.

     (There are a few things that one _does not do_ to the other species of Hyrule.

     Hylian ears are extremely sensitive and should not be touched without permission. Doing so is the easiest way to piss one of them off. It's also known that they tend to be more fragile than the other peoples.

     The Gerudo people tend to be like the creatures of the desert; very much warm-blooded and able to withstand quite high heats. They do not trust men and tend to cover their faces at all times. Like Hylians, one does not touch their ears without permission.

     Those of the Goron race are as sturdy as the mountains they reside on. Like the Gerudo, they are very resistant to heat, but sink like stones in water. It is considered rude to touch a Goron's weapon without their consent; actually touching the hardened rocks on their bodies is an even greater offense.

     The Zora tend to spend most of their lives in or near water. As such, they prefer it cool and humid and can actually dry out if exposed to high heat. Their skin is tough, except in key areas, and touching their gills and fins without their consent is one of the highest forms of offense.

     Finally, those of the Rito spend much of their lives up in the air. Families, lovers, and very close friends are allowed to assist in braiding the crest-feathers. Touching, cutting, or ruining crest-feathers in any way, shape, or form can and will get one killed by a ticked off Rito.)

     The Rito watches the remains of one of his braids flutter to the ground and his entire face _spasms_. “ _You,_ ” he grinds out. “ _I will kill you._ ” He lunges forward with a roar of fury. Mipha is there first, though, and swings the butt of Seasplitter around with force. It connects soundly with the Corrupted and it bellows in rage, orange crystals exploding outwards from the one in its throat. She dodges, ducks out of the way, and Daruk is there, his hammer coming down with great power. Then Urbosa whirls in, lightning sparking along the edge of Skystrike, and she smacks the side against the Corrupted. The charge ripples outwards, spreading across what remains of their Knight, and it shrieks in agony.

_**How dare you**_ , it roars as it stumbles to its feet. The crystal around its neck flares, explodes outwards in bright orange, and the Corrupted's form _shifts_. Flesh explodes outwards, dissolves into darkness as its skin ripples into fur. It drops to all fours, mutates, and becomes a wolf as large as the greatest of horses. Its fur is dark gray, a lighter shade forming symbols across its chest and its belly. The ruined remains of the Hyrule symbol sit on its forehead, mostly marred by the orange, tainted crystal that sits in the center.

     “Fucking hell,” Revali spits, still somewhat murderous, just as Daruk catches the gigantic wolf in the side with the flat of his hammer. It skids to the side with a furious snarl and dark magic sparks upwards. Teeth sharpen, claws lengthen, and it launches forward with a roar that shakes the very ground below their feet. Urbosa swings her scimitar upwards, slicing a gash across its side, and the beast lashes out at her in retaliation. She blocks, skidding backwards from the force, and the beast snarls once again.

_**We are the shadow! We will not be defeated!** _

     “No,” Mipha says, and her form is glowing with magic, “you will be _vanquished_ ,” and releases whatever spell it is that she has cast. White light sears through the room, chasing away all the shadows from the corners, and the Corrupted _screams_ as its form recoils.

_**No! No! No!** _ it screams. _YESYESYES!_ echoes just underneath.

     Mipha's smile is sharp. “You lost.” Power sears through her and she pushes once more, burning the very taint from the Corrupted's veins. When the fur and dust and dark squares settle, fading away as it is vanquished, it leaves behind a form crumpled within a circle of shadows. Quietly, the Zora princess steps closer, then gasps loudly when she sees the unconscious form of the Knight.

     Revali immediately hurries forward, his bow vanishing into nothing, and he drops to his knees to assist Mipha in rolling their Knight over. “Blondie,” he hisses, wing-tips shaking a shoulder, but there is no response.

     “He's out completely,” Urbosa observes quietly. “For a moment there, when Mipha released that magic, I could hear both of them screaming. The Calamity was furious. The Knight sounded pleased.”

( _ **This isn't over, Heroes. You will not win.**_ )

**oOo**

     Sidon pauses mid-thrust, trident only a few inches from the target, and cocks his head to the side. He could have sworn that he heard something. Moments later, Vah Medoh wings into view and settles on a massive strip of land just inside of the city. Snatching up his trident, he dodges the annoying questions of the elders trying to trap him and bounds towards the palace.

     Once inside, he meets up with the others. Daruk is carrying something wrapped in a blanket, his face quiet and drawn. Urbosa seems unusually somber, her brows pinched together. Mipha is probably three seconds away from bursting into tears; water is already beading up in her eyes. Revali looks absolutely furious, his beak twitching in a way that warns of an impending explosion. Sidon eyes the Rito carefully, wincing when he spots the remains of the ruined braid, and heads over to wrap an arm around his lover. “If you wish, I can assist you with fixing your braids later,” he offers quietly and watches as Revali blinks at him for a moment. Finally the Rito nods, hand slowly coming up to finger what is left of the braid and Sidon tugs him closer.

     Then Mipha actually bursts into tears and Sidon can't stop himself from dragging his elder sister into the hug as well. “Something happened. Does anyone feel up to inform me?” he asks, curious but also feeling like he might possibly regret asking for this information. Probably a bit of both.

     Revali sighs. “We went to the Shrine of Resurrection on the Great Plateau. There we found the Knight all right, but we weren't the first ones into the Shrine.”

     Urbosa glances at the bundle within Daruk's arms and winces. “The Calamity got to him first. He was Corrupted and we had to fight him.” Sidon eyes the blanket. Now that he thinks about it, the fabric _does_ seem to be awfully red.

     His sister heaves a heavy sob. “It was like fighting you, Sidon! Like I was killing family!” she wails.

     The Zora prince slowly turns to look at Daruk, his heart sinking in his chest. “The Knight _is_ still alive, _right_?”

     Daruk shrugs as best as he can with the bundle in his arms. “Beats me. Mipha's the healer, not me,” he admits, then slowly peels the fabric away from the face. Half-closed, empty, blue eyes are the first thing Sidon notices. Then it's the orange crystal embedded in the Hylian's throat; it doesn't seem tainted though, so he moves on. There are several bloody scratches on his face, some that even still weep crimson. Eventually the Zora turns his gaze back to the crystal.

     “What is this?”

     Urbosa shrugs. “Beats me. We think it was planted in him by the Calamity. Mipha says it can't be removed without killing him. All I know is that it enhanced that bastard's power. He was throwing corrupted spears and poisonous magic at us the entire fight. Then he shape-shifted into a giant wolf bigger than the size of our largest horses.”

     “I hit him with my hammer,” Daruk interrupts.

     “And broke several ribs!” Mipha glares at the Goron and he winces slightly, then reaches up to scratch at the back of his head.

     “Yeah, that too. Mipha wasn't happy with me.”

     Sidon huffs a laugh and gently reaches out to take the precious bundle from Daruk. “Do you want me to take him to the Halls of Healing?” He directs the question at his sister and quietly waits while she thinks it over.

     “No,” Mipha eventually decides. “The special guest room attached to my rooms might be better. That way I can keep my eye on him at all times. I don't know what that crystal has done to him and I'm not sure I want to find out.”

     Urbosa leans in close to the Knight's neck, carefully examining the gem. “It seems to pulse in time with his heart,” she finally observes. “If nothing else, it's a convenient method of discerning that he's still alive.”

     Mipha frowns a little. “I don't think I really want to rely on that. Daruk, if you wouldn't mind carrying the Knight for me?”

     “And what about me?” Sidon protests with a frown.

     His sister smirks in his direction. “Don't you have braids to help with?” she asks sweetly, then turns and leads the Goron out of the room.

     Sidon resists the urge to smack his own face and turns to grab and throw Revali over a shoulder.

(Turns out that Rito make chirping noises that can almost pass for purring when having their feathers brushed.)

**oOo**

     Revali doesn't speak for most of the evening, silent and tense. Eventually Sidon sighs, collects a soft-bristled brush from a box, and settles down behind the Rito. Idly he brushes out the feathers, quietly straightening them without saying a single word. “I used to have a crush on the Knight,” Revali finally admits. “I guess I wasn't as over it as I thought it was.”

     “He is rather gorgeous, isn't he?” Sidon muses, and he can feel his lover jerk against him in surprise.

     “You... You're not mad?”

     “Can't really be mad when I'm guilty of having the same thoughts.” The Zora shrugs lazily before returning to brushing out the feathers. Revali sags against him, all the stiffness bleeding out of his system alongside his sigh of relief. “We may have to be careful with the Knight, though. We don't know how much he remembers.”

     “Or even what he remembers,” Revali offers. “For all we know, he may or may not recall his final moments all those years ago.”

     Sidon clicks his tongue. “I do hope that crystal doesn't affect him in a horrible way.”

     “We won't know until he wakes up. Besides, Mipha is there. She's an amazing healer.” Revali leans back against the broad chest of the Zora and Sidon sets the brush down on a table, then tugs the Rito close enough and tangles their legs together. He really hopes the Knight wakes up soon.

(The Knight doesn't wake up all right.

The Knight wakes up a broken mess.)


End file.
